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Grants and Prizes

The Encore Award

The £10,000 Encore Award for the best second novel - now awarded biennially - was first awarded in 1990. The next Award will be given in 2011 for the best second novel of 2009 and 2010.

The 2009 Winner

The 2009 Encore Award for the best second novel of 2007 and 2008 has been awarded to Julia Leigh for Disquiet (Faber). The prize of £10,000 was presented by Ali Smith, winner of the award in 2002 with her novel Hotel World, at a reception at the ICA on 19th May. The judges were Alex Clark, Lindsay Duguid and Peter Parker.

The 2009 shortlist

  • Judy Corbalis - Mortmain (Chatto)
  • Eva Hoffman - Illuminations (Harvill Secker)
  • Panos Karnezis - The Birthday Party (Cape)
  • Julia Leigh - Disquiet (Faber)
  • Adam Mars-Jones - Pilcrow (Faber)
  • Sujit Saraf - The Peacock Throne (Sceptre)
  • Indra Sinha - Animal's People (Simon & Schuster)

To download full details of the Encore Award shortlist click here

The 2011 Encore Award

The next prize will be awarded in 2011 (for books published in 2009 and 2010).  The entry form for this prize will be available in September 2009. The final deadline for entries will be 30th November 2010.

Criteria for entry

  • The work must be a novel by one author who has had one (and only one) novel published previously.
  • The work must be in the English language, first published in the UK in 2009 or 2010, and not a work for children.
  • Either: (a)  the author must be a British or a Commonwealth citizen or (b)  the book must have been first published in the UK.

Please note: a work that is published on its own is regarded as a novel unless the word ‘novella’ appears on the cover.

How to enter

For each entry, you will need to download and complete an entry form and return it with five copies (non-returnable) of the book to: Paula Johnson, Awards Secretary, The Society of Authors, 84 Drayton Gardens, London SW10 9SB.

To download the entry form click here. The deadline for entries will be 30th November 2010.

Conditions of entry

There will be three judges whose books may not be entered for the award. Judges may call in books if they so wish. The decision of the judges (both as to eligibility and the winning entries) shall be final. The judges reserve the right to divide the prize between two or more novels they consider to be of equal merit; or not to make the award if, in their opinion, no works entered reach a sufficiently high standard.

For further information contact Paula Johnson on 020 7373 6642 or at pjohnson@societyofauthors.org